Chapter 13 – Royal Surprises
Captain Laurent and Colonel Brissac sped across the grasslands followed by the Royal Guard, but the journey became increasingly perilous, as the previous day's rain rendered the terrain swampy and the roads uneven. Because the muddy terrain made it difficult for the horses to maintain the speed, the men decided to slow down.
Both Brissac and Laurent were nervous –they had failed at a hasty return to Hautefort and the consequences could be serious. The prince's request was timely, Mademoiselle de Barbarac seemed to be in very poor condition and they needed to procure a carriage as soon as possible. Colonel Brissac was particularly concerned about her and about the prince: if the young woman succumbed while traveling with the prince, His Highness could be accused of abduction and mistreatment. It was therefore imperative to take this young woman safely to Hautefort where she could soon receive medical attention.
As they cleared the last hill, they found a shortcut to the carefully tended main road leading to the village of Hautefort where they were finally able to regain a quick pace. Half an hour later they approached the castle and at about 4:30 in the afternoon they crossed the back gates and entered the gravel courtyard of the magnificent Château de Hautefort.
Colonel Brissac went directly to order a carriage, but then he thought that the weather could turn bad, so he ordered a closed royal coach outfitted with two horses, comfortable cushions, blankets, and a basket of fresh fruit and water. Captain Laurent would be returning to the prince with the coach and the supplies. As Brissac disappeared into the servants quarters, the captain headed to the kitchens to dine before the more arduous return. The trip would be slower, as traveling with a carriage meant he had to take roads; he would no longer had the freedom of cutting through the fields on horseback. For now, he had a moment of reprise. He sat at the long table in the corner of the central kitchen, and as the cook served him a hearty meal, Laurent began to plan his next hour. He would have to speak to the Queen and also to Grand Master Montmorency —there needed to be clarity among Henri's allies.
Upon finishing his meal, Laurent took to the halls of the family wing of the castle to find the Grand Master. He would lay out Henri's plan so that Montmorency could appease the King if necessary. Henri felt that Montmorency and the Queen together could steer the King towards accepting his proposal.
Laurent found Grand Master Montmorency in the open drawing room adjacent to the Grand Hall. He was meeting with a gentleman whom he could not recognize, but Laurent realized that he must be important for Montmorency to have received him. Laurent stood at the edge of the hall, a fair distance from them as not to bother, waiting to see if the Grand Master would notice him. He did not, so he left to meet with the Queen. He walked with determination to the small library where the Queen was still meeting with the Spanish Ambassador, who after the embarrassment of the wedding ceremony was hastily arranging the return of the Spanish monarchs to Castilla. At 5:00 pm the Queen received him in her sitting room where she sat accompanied by two of her ladies.
"Your Majesty," Laurent bowed from the doorway and stayed in his bow longer than usual, returned to his standing position and did not move from the doorway.
"Come in, captain. Where is the prince? Is anything wrong?" Queen Marie was concerned by the serious expression on Laurent's face.
"There is nothing wrong, Your Majesty. But I have a private message from His Highness."
The Queen stood up and made a sign for her ladies to leave. Laurent entered the room and the guards closed the door behind him. He had been in this room many times to address the Queen on Henri's behalf, but this was the first time that he felt intimidated under the Queen's inquisitive eyes. The Queen was usually a very agreeable woman, but one false move regarding Henri and she could destroy you. Captain Laurent felt unsure about his mission. He did not know the Queen's feelings regarding the expedition to Beynac, which could have been dangerous. 'If the Queen feels that I had put her precious son's life at risk, I am lost,' the captain thought.
Laurent was a little nervous. Perhaps it was because this was the first time that Henri was openly and publicly defying his father, or perhaps it was the seriousness of the issue, since the King had explicitly forbidden Henri's relationship with Mlle. de Barbarac, calling it an effrontery. Laurent knew he owed loyalty to both the King and the Queen, but Henri was not only his prince, he was his friend who was in love, and he owed it to him to help as much as he could. Laurent knew he was in an impossible position: his mission was to garner support from the Queen knowing that the King vehemently opposed the issue, so Laurent was effectively pitting the Queen and King against each other and placing himself in the middle.
For a moment, Laurent had the sensation that everything in the room was spiraling. As the Queen walked around the room, he noted that the golden decorative swirls on the wall behind the Queen's richly upholstered chair seemed to join those on the chair's carved golden frame and its luscious brocade. Without taking her eyes off the captain the Queen settled back in her chair, finding her most comfortable position and motioning for him to move closer. She was hoping that her son had not gotten himself into trouble, yet again.
"Sit down, captain. Your face tells me Henri is in trouble, which doesn't surprise me. I haven't seen him since he ran out of the church this morning. I went looking for him in his apartments and his valet told me he had raced in only to grab a cloak and then rushed out. I assume you were with him?"
Laurent lowered his head and replied, "I was, Your Majesty. I always strive to be by the prince's side."
Moving her upper body only slightly towards him, the Queen spoke very concisely. "Then please, tell me where did you go and what is happening."
Despite the Queen's invitation to sit, the captain never sat in her presence, out of respect. Since Laurent grew up in the Court, the King and Queen often treated him more like a son, but Laurent always kept his behavior very formal. He was a strong and well respected soldier and didn't want other guards to witness this kind of familiarity and get the wrong impression. He wanted each of his guardsmen to be as strong and formal as he.
Laurent spoke keeping his head lowered: "We've had a long day of riding. The prince went to Château de Beynac and I accompanied him." Laurent wanted the Queen to first get an understanding of the type of day he had had before he presented her with the full story.
"To Monsieur Le Pieu's? That's a bit of a ride. Why would Henri go there today?" the Queen asked, perplexed.
"He went to look for Mademoiselle de Barbarac, the girl from the masque. You must know that His Highness is very much in love with the girl."
"Well, that is obvious," she smiled. "He has been roaming around the castle with a gloomy face, sending messages with couriers and trying to break his betrothal to the Infanta Gabriela since the King announced it. He was completely taken by this girl when he believed her to be a Comtesse; a couple of times he asked me if I knew her. And then he insulted her at the masque, which surprised me, but Signore da Vinci told me that he regretted it. In fact, Henri had been questioning Da Vinci relentlessly about her."
"Certainly. He regrets it because he has found out who she really is."
"Oh, so she has yet another identity. That explains why he asked Montmorency to conduct an extensive research into the girl's family history. I appreciate that you are such a good friend and guard to the Dauphin, Laurent. But about this young woman, who is she and why did Henri go to look for her at Le Pieu's? The last thing we knew about her was that she lived with the Baroness de Ghent, as her servant –the events at the masque made it clear she wasn't meant to be with our son. The King is not amused by Henri's choice, and I don't want my son to be risking his life for a servant girl. I do hope he gets over this infatuation. Danielle is her name, isn't it?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Her name is Danielle, Danielle de Barbarac."
"Oh yes, that's what the baroness had said, de Barbarac… hmm." The Queen looked pensive as she tried to remember why that name sounded so familiar.
"The prince wanted me to inform you that he is bringing her to Hautefort," Laurent spoke with a bit of hesitation. "After the masque, he found out that although the baroness treated her as a servant, she is actually the baroness' stepdaughter."
"The baroness' stepdaughter? How so? And how did we not know she had one?"
"It seems that Mademoiselle de Barbarac is the daughter of Auguste de Barbarac, the wealthy landowner the baroness married. They married in Ghent and soon after they returned, Monsieur de Barbarac died," Laurent paused waiting for the Queen's reaction. "I was told that Mademoiselle de Barbarac was born a lady, but the baroness made her a servant when her father died. The baroness has two daughters of her own and they are the young ladies she has presented in Court. She has never brought in her stepdaughter and I assume that is why no one knows about her."
"Oh goodness, but of course! Now I remember him!" The Queen stood and moved to the window considering the prospect. She knew why the name rang so familiar. She turned slightly towards Capt. Laurent, her hands still resting on the window's stone ledge. "I remember Auguste de Barbarac, he was an untitled nobleman, and a very loyal friend of the Court. I didn't know he had married the baroness. But I do remember meeting him right after he returned from Italy a widower. His wife...oh, what was her name, Ni…," she pursed her lips and began sounding out N in different ways, Ni, Ne, Na, trying to find the name.
Laurent smiled. This is the element of the Queen he found most endearing, her desire to care, and it was rather amusing. Looking up at the ceiling she continued trying very hard to remember the lady's name.
"I cannot remember her name... the Court had just came back from Paris when we learned she had died. I think she died in Italy... I know Auguste returned to the Périgord as a widower with his baby girl! That must be Danielle!" She stalled for a moment, letting the information sink in. Speaking aloud, but directing the intent of the conversation to herself. "Of course she should be treated as a lady, she has all the rights of one." She stayed by the window for a few moments, turned to look out over the royal gardens, absorbed in her thoughts.
"I knew of Auguste's wife but I never met her, she never came to Court. She was a lady, though. I cannot remember her name... Ne… Ni...I think it was….Nicole! Yes, that was her name, Nicole." A realization suddenly came to the Queen. She turned to face the captain. "Nicole...that's the name the girl gave to Henri... that's why he called her Nicole at the masque! Nicole was her mother. Henri asked me about the Comtesse Nicole de Lancret and I could not remember Auguste's wife. I don't know if she was a Comtesse; I think she was Lady Nicole de Lancret, the daughter of the late Marquis de Lancret." And walking towards the captain she added: "Danielle de Barbarac is probably the heiress of de Barbarac's estate and she may be of the Lancret's as well! Oh, God! The baroness and Henri humiliated her so publicly! But why is she a servant? She cannot be so impoverished, could she? Surely Auguste must have left enough money for her. Unless ... Oh, dear Lord, that girl has been wronged!"
"She might be an heiress, but a fortnight ago the baroness sold her to Monsieur Le Pieu." Laurent found his opening and took a step towards the Queen.
"Oh God!" Marie gasped realizing that the baroness had deceived her, and not just once. She returned to her chair, disheartened, and in a majestic gesture released a huge sigh. Just two weeks ago the baroness had said Nicole was her cousin and was engaged to a Belgian. The following day she accused the girl of being a devious pretender, a servant, who turned out to be her stepdaughter, and now she was an heiress.
"The baroness truly sold Auguste's daughter? Her stepdaughter? This is so unseemly. Oh, but how can I be shocked, it is the Court. Still, poor girl."
"I was told that unfortunately, since Auguste died, the baroness has been quite unkind to Mademoiselle de Barbarac and has done everything in her power to rid herself of this girl who she considers a burden. And after the masque she saw the opportunity to strip the lady of her inheritance when M. Le Pieu offered to buy her as a servant."
Marie frowned as she listened to the captain. She couldn't understand such malevolence. One thing was to misappropriate the girl's inheritance –a crime punishable by monetary retribution—but to sell a girl who was born a lady! That was a completely different kind of crime. "Continue please," she said to Laurent.
"I will make this as short as possible, Ma'am. From what I understand, the baroness was hoping for Prince Henri to choose her daughter, Lady Marguerite, as his bride. But then she witnessed —as we all did— Henri's fascination with Mademoiselle de Barbarac when she appeared at the masque. No one knows how she got there, and when the baroness recognized her, well... that was quite a scene! It took the prince off guard. I think the baroness assumed that when the prince recovered from the shock he would be looking for Mlle. de Barbarac at the manor. And she was correct. So the following day she secretly sold her to Monsieur Le Pieu so that Henri could not find her." Laurent paused to see if the Queen was still following him. She nodded for him to continue.
"Henri didn't know she had been sold; he had been desperately trying to find her to speak with her. He sent messages to the manor and when she didn't respond he assumed that she was still upset for the way he treated her at the masque. He thought she had left the province, or worse, the country. That's why he resigned himself to marry the Infanta. When he ran out of the church today…." Laurent stopped for only a moment and reflected on the day's events— "he was determined to find her. It was then that he learned that Mlle. de Barbarac had been sold. You would understand his rage, and his fear. He decided to go to Beynac to look for her."
"Who told Henri that she had been sold?"
"The baroness' driver, and then Lady Jacqueline de Ghent, the baroness' youngest daughter, confirmed it. As I was exiting the church, Lady Jacqueline shared with me the story of her stepsister. That is how I learned that Mademoiselle de Barbarac, Danielle, was Auguste de Barbarac's daughter. When Henri heard about Danielle being sold, he asked me to gather the guard and accompany him to rescue her. And once the prince has a mind to do something... well, we rode immediately to Beynac. Colonel Brissac followed us with several men from the Royal Guard."
"Oh, dear! Did you find her?"
"Yes, we found her."
"Is she alright?" The Queen asked.
"When we got there she had actually rescued herself!" Laurent smiled, remembering Henri's surprise at seeing Danielle walking out of the castle into the courtyard, without chase. "She challenged Le Pieu with a sword and was walking out of the castle when we arrived."
"A girl skilled with the sword! That's quite something!" the Queen laughed.
"Prince Henri had been so worried, he had thoughts of her locked away in a tower, or worse, abused by Le Pieu. We all know Le Pieu's ways to be rather rough. But we found her walking out in the courtyard on her own accord!" Laurent shook his head. "The prince just ran to her!" Laurent then looked worried. "None of us, however, noticed how weak she was until we were about to leave and she fainted. She is not well. The prince is concerned for her health and is bringing her to Hautefort. She is too weak to ride a horse, so I am bringing a coach to them."
"Do you mean Henri is still at Château de Beynac?"
"No, no. He is at the Château de Puymartin, in Marquay. The Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Clar are graciously hosting His Highness and Mlle. de Barbarac at their château in Marquay. They will rest and recover a little there. I shall take the coach to Marquay and bring them home. The prince requested that a chamber be prepared for Mlle. de Barbarac. He also wants a Court physician to tend to her."
The Queen nodded. "Of course, leave it to me. I'll have it managed by the time you get back."
"Now with your permission, I shall take my leave." Laurent bowed again to the Queen and prepared to leave the room. But once he got to the door he turned and faced the Queen again. "One more thing, Your Majesty—I forgot to mention an important piece of news— Prince Henri proposed to Mlle. de Barbarac. He wants to marry her, immediately!"
"Lord, have mercy!" The Queen almost choked. She stalled, gained her composure and rising from her chair began to slowly circle the room. She again stopped and turned to Laurent. "Henri knows I will support him, but he will need to convince the King himself, and that won't be easy."
"He said that the girl cannot go back to the baroness," Laurent explained.
"I understand, but that doesn't mean he has to marry her! You know perfectly well that the King will not accept an engagement he has not sanctioned. And even if the girl is not a servant, Henri knows he must marry for political gain."
"Henri asked that I speak to Grand Master Montmorency and together...well, maybe both of you could consider the options and help convince the King. He is in love."
The Queen walked to her chair and sat again, then began to fiddle with the lace kerchief she had pulled from her sleeve. She did this when she was nervous; and she was truly shaken.
As if giving up, she waved the kerchief at Laurent. "Very well, Laurent. Tell Henri to send a messenger ahead to alert us of his arrival with Mlle. de Barbarac, and to enter the castle through the guard's gate, not the front courtyard. We need to keep this matter private while everything is sorted out and avoid the courtiers' gossip. Remember that the Spanish monarchs are still here as our guests and it will be in bad taste for Henri to parade a paramour. I'll have a chamber prepared in the royal wing, one that can only be accessed by the family and our most trusted staff. However, I am most concerned about the King's reaction; we'll certainly need to get his approval and I doubt that he sees any benefit in this liaison."
The conversation was halted by a knock on the door. "Enter," the Queen responded.
"Your Majesty," Montmorency bowed as he stood in the doorway, then entered the room.
"The King requests your presence in the library. He also requested to meet with Prince Henri, but I couldn't find the prince. I wondered if you know where he might be," he said in his most formal voice. He looked at Laurent, surprised to find the captain with the Queen; he was to accompany the prince at all times. His presence here with the Queen could only mean Henri was up to something.
"Perhaps Captain Laurent could tell me where to find His Highness, since he is your ward?" Montmorency addressed Laurent in an unexpectedly ironic tone.
The captain realized Montmorency hadn't noticed him earlier waiting in the antechamber while he was speaking with his guest. Now was not the time to point out he had already tried to speak to him. "His Highness is in Marquay, Sir. He is paying a special visit to the Marquis de Saint-Clar. I am on my way to fetch him."
"Is he?" Montmorency asked raising an eyebrow. He was convinced the captain was hiding something regarding the prince. And he had no time to figure out what it was before the briefing with the King and the Queen.
"I look forward to finding out the details, captain." Montmorency said, thinking that if what Duc Philippe had said was certain, Henri had picked up the girl from Monsieur Le Pieu and had gone hiding with her somewhere. And it seemed that this 'somewhere' was Marquay. Oh, this smells like trouble, he thought.
Keeping his thoughts to himself, the Grand Master said: "You may want to come to the library as well captain. The King may have some questions for you. I also have many."
The Queen spoke. "What is this formality about, my dear Anne?"
Montmorency knew that the Queen only used his first name when she was trying to make a point or when she felt cornered by the King's impositions, usually regarding Henri. Otherwise, she would call him 'dearest Monty,' or in public, the more formal Monsieur Montmorency. He took note of the Queen's mood and softened his tone.
"Your Majesty, there is a visitor whom the King could not avoid receiving today. The King would like to share the issues regarding this visitor, and for Your Majesty to be present as he receives him. He also asked for the prince to join him, of course when he returns."
"And who might that be?"
"The King was gracious enough to receive the Duc de Châtellerault and Mantua, Philippe de Bourbon-Montpensier."
"I wonder what business brings Monsieur Le Duc de Châtellerault here today. Haven't the Bourbon-Montpensier family moved to Mantua?" the Queen inquired in a sarcastic tone.
"It will better if the King explains it himself."
"I am asking you, Anne. Please tell me what you know. You must understand I could not meet with the King and such visitor in complete ignorance of what brings him here."
"The Duc de Châtellerault has some questions regarding his niece, Mademoiselle de Barbarac. He was informed that Prince Henri brought her here and he came to fetch her."
The Queen was stunned at the word niece and felt baffled.
"Mademoiselle de Barbarac you said? I just learned that she is the stepdaughter of the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent, although the baroness claimed the girl was her servant! Laurent just told me that she was the daughter of Auguste de Barbarac, who had gotten married to the baroness. I finally made the connection. I did remember that Auguste had a daughter with his first wife, Lady Nicole de Lancret. I assume that girl is Danielle de Barbarac, but how is she the niece of the Duc de Châtellerault? How many identities does this girl have and can any of them be trusted?"
The Queen and Laurent looked at each other surprised that someone else knew about Danielle, but it seemed that Montmorency knew much more than they did. First, the shifty baroness sells her stepdaughter as a servant to the deeply disturbed M. Le Pieu; then Le Pieu makes her his property, and now somebody else was claiming her! At least this seems to be a family relation. Please let it be true, for all our sakes, the Queen silently wished.
"You say the Duc de Châtellerault and Mantua came for her?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Montmorency expressionless face didn't betray his amusement with the situation. "He claims to be her uncle."
"Danielle de Barbarac is the niece of Philippe de Bourbon-Montpensier? The Queen asked again. The girl's bloodline began to sink in.
"How is that possible?" Laurent was dumbfounded. Henri did not mention this detail. He mustn't know about it. Laurent looked at Montmorency directly and cocked his head examining him for some sort of 'tell.'
"I believe the duke will enlighten us all. We are just learning the news. He is most upset about what happened to the girl."
"Of course he should be upset!" The Queen said. "What I would like to know is where this duke was when the girl was left to be sold by the baroness! This story has more angles than we dare to count. I wonder what the King is thinking. Goodness, I would like to better understand all of this. Thank you, Monsieur Montmorency. Please tell the King we will meet him shortly to discuss this matter while we await the prince's return."
Montmorency bowed as he left the room. When the Queen was alone with Captain Laurent she asked him: "Do you think Henri knows of this relationship with de Bourbon-Montpensier family?"
"I dare say that the prince has no idea. I shall warn him, though. If the duke is Mademoiselle de Barbarac's rightful guardian, Henri must be prepared to answer to him for holding her. He will need the duke's consent to see her."
"He needs his father's consent first. Oh Henri," she sighed. "He never makes our lives easy, does he? Well, Laurent, let us go to the King and discuss this news. I'm sure it will amuse us and that has its value in Court. I trust Montmorency and the rest of the King's advisers have already begun to unravel things better than we."
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